A Journey of life through a lens

October 14, 2014October 14, 2014

I am Funemployed

A little over a month ago I quit my job. Yes, you read right…I just quit my job with NO JOB lined up! I worked for Procter and Gamble at one of the largest manufacturing plants within the company making Pampers diapers- a GLOBAL multi-million dollar business.

I graduated as a computer engineer and went into a manufacturing career. In my last role, I was a production line manager, with so much responsibility; you can consider it as I was running a mini-business. When I left, I was about to get promoted and had delivered some best in class results for the business. At that point in my career, I was a respected leader about to reach a critical milestone. I walked away from that.

Here is where the story gets more interesting…I had planned to take a 3-month sabbatical and my leadership was aligned. I would have a job when I got back. I still chose to leave. No, I am not crazy. I am confident. I have worked very hard throughout my life to earn financial and mental independence. Listen, I am living the American dream!

My sister and I were born in Venezuela and migrated to the states with a single (recently divorced) mother who did not speak English. On her own, she supported us (without any government help or child support) so that we had what we needed. My grandmother helped her fill in the parenting gaps so we had someone looking over us. I grew up in Boston, no not near Boston…IN BOSTON. I went to public schools and was wise enough to know that I need to get a scholarship or I wouldn’t be able to afford college. Thanks to hard work and opportunity, I got a full tuition scholarship and I graduated as a computer engineer. From there, I went straight to work for Procter and Gamble.

Fast forward to today, I’ve earned so much starting from very little and this helps me put things in perspective. I feel it keeps me grounded. I am not tied to material things and success to me is having the freedom to do what I want to do. Some people may understand this and some may not.

Knowing that about myself so early in my life gives me power to take risks and know that I will learn and rise up to the challenge. I did it in my first job at P&G, walking into a manufacturing environment and learning enough about the technology and system to get results. Then, I proceeded to lead a group of technical experts and enabled them to deliver strong results. I can learn what I need to in order to get things done, and it extends beyond the walls of P&G. I can and have learned to do anything. I learned to code in college so that I could earn my degree and be one of two females in my graduating class for my major. For fun, I started this blog to learn how to use my DSLR and take photos. Now, people hire me now because they like my photography…Imagine that!

I learn to a high level and this is my skill. So whatever I decide to learn next, I will be successful and that is why I am confident. I hope by this point I have convinced you that I am not crazy!

So, I chose to take a career break and travel. I earned it! I have started my Journey this week! Friends will be joining me along the way and together, my husband and I will travel for 3 months, backpacking through Asia, Australia, and New Zealand. This is so exciting and rewarding and I feel blessed to have the means and opportunity to do this!

My project throughout it all will be to share our adventures via this blog with daily pictures and videos. I will post images and stories about Love and Life in the places we visit. I hope you enjoy it and share it, but most of all, I hope you learn from my experiences so you can pursue your dreams without fear of the risks.